Fair to say this looks like no wedding planner you’ve ever seen before.

But he is.

Sort of.

Tim St. Pierre, in the winter, does help his wife Emily with her company — All The Fuss Events — which tackles corporate shindigs and, yes, organizes weddings. But floral arrangements and hall decorations are not specialties of the former kick-boxer.

“Yeah, I do zero per cent of the actual wedding stuff,” says St. Pierre, with a cackle. “She does all the creative stuff.”

St. Pierre prefers to stay hidden, doing website work and handling promotional material and managing taxes for the New England-based enterprise.

“She stays (in New Hampshire) year-round, runs the business,” says St. Pierre. “I help her out in the off-season, then I come back and play football. She’s doing her dream job. I’m doing my dream job. Unfortunately, we’ve got to be apart to make that work.

“But at this time of our lives, we get to do what we both love to do. So it’s worth it, you know?”

The arrangement sees St. Pierre at the Calgary Stampeders camp, the seventh of his Canadian Football League career.

The special-teams ace still remembers his first tryout — a month after the Edmonton Eskimos had selected him in the third round of the 2008 draft.

“That was the hardest one — eye-opening,” says St. Pierre, a product of Saint Mary’s University. “Hardest one, by far. The days feel so long because everything’s new to you. New demands. Faster game. You’re nervous. You’re scared of making mistakes. All those things.

“But, as a veteran (now), you understand the whole concept. It’s not as worrisome.”

It shows.

You can relax enough to, you know, play soccer with Bo Levi Mitchell and some of the boys immediately after a morning practice.

Camp for old-timers is less about fretting than it is about fine tuning.

“And, of course, it’s fun,” says St. Pierre, 28. “The off-season, it’s a long process. By the time March, April comes around, you’re really champing at the bit to get back. We’re all energetic, waiting to get back. So it is fun, but it’s a grind on your body, for sure. As a veteran, you learn how to deal with that. That’s part of being a player — you’ve got to learn how to play hurt, play sore. That’s what training camp is about.”

For the 2014 campaign, St. Pierre has set no personal goals.

Sure, he’d be thrilled to push his special-team tackles into the high teens, but beyond that? He’s like everyone else — he wants to win a Grey Cup. His first Grey Cup.

“We haven’t been able to get over that hump the past few years,” says St. Pierre, going into his fourth campaign with the Stamps. “I want a ring, I want a championship. That’s what we all play for. I’m at Year 7 and I’m still chasing it. I’ll do whatever I’m asked to do. That’s the type of guy I am. That’s why I’m still around, I think.”

NOTES: R Joe West (quadriceps) did not participate in Wednesday’s practice. He was limited to light jogging . . . Stamps travel Friday to Vancouver where they’ll meet the B.C. Lions at 8 p.m. . . . Since John Hufnagel grabbed hold of the reins in 2008, Calgary is 10-3 in the pre-season.

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Share

Stamps’ St. Pierre, complete with tattoos and plenty of brawn, not your typical wedding planner

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.